This Months Article

Starting: Thu February 1, 2001
Ending: Wed February 28, 2001

Messages: 199

• Lord, save us from rumours Virtue of scepticism
• T. V. R. Shenoy, The Indian Express, February 1, 2001
>>> In 1934 the province of Bihar was shaken by a giant earthquake that left thousands dead in its wake.   Mahatma Gandhi mused aloud that it was the judgement of Heaven for mistreatment of Harijans. ......
 
• Kashmir's freedom will pave way for establishing Islam in Pak, says Lashkar
• Prakash Pillai, The Hindustan Times, February 2, 2001
>>> Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, the Islamic militant outfit waging jihad in Kashmir says the freedom of Kashmir will pave way for establishing Islam in Pakistan. ......
 
• You gotta have faith, funds, says Bush, omits Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists
• Aziz Haniffa, India Abroad News, February 2, 2001
>>> Resident George W. Bush's “faith-based initiative”, designed to allow religious charities and non- profit organizations to compete for federal funding in the battle against the nation's social programs, has drawn criticism from groups keen to keep the church and the state separate. ......
 
• Hindu nationalists mobilize for quake relief
• Chris Tomlinson, The Associated Press, February 2, 2001
>>> Saffron scarves flung around their necks and pickaxes and shovels slung over their shoulders, the Hindu nationalist volunteers walk the streets of Bhuj, collecting the dead. ......
 
• Muslim cleric says quake caused by govt. oppression
• Kavita Bajeli-Datt, India Abroad News, February 2, 2001
>>> A prominent Muslim cleric has hit out at the Vajpayee government, saying its "oppression of poor and minorities" were causing calamities in India. ......
 
• An Uncultured Media
• Editorial, The Navhind Times, February 2, 2001
>>> The Controversy over the media coverage of the Maha Kumbh mela continues.   The conflict is between two streams of thought, one saying the media should be prohibited from covering scenes of mass bathing at the sangam, the other saying the media has the right to cover them, like it has the right to cover other events. ......
 
• Peel schools extend helping hand to India's earthquake victims
• Canada News Wire, February 2, 2001
>>> Peel District School Board schools and locations are reaching out to help the tens of thousands of children and families affected by the earthquake in Gujarat, India. To help the people of India begin to rebuild their lives, board has declared Friday, Feb. 9 as Helping Hands-India Earthquake Relief Day. ......
 
• President of U.S. Academy of Religion is Hindu
• Sonia Chopra, Rediff on Net (US Edition), February 3, 2001
>>> Vasudha Narayanan grew up in conservative Madras where religion, culture, tradition, history, philosophy and temples formed the backdrop of her environment. ......
 
• Quake's stoic heroes also feared as fascists
• John Stackhouse, Globe and Mail, February 3, 2001
>>> In the depths of crisis, India's stoic men in khaki emerge, their discipline as famous as their uniforms, their reputation as sure, they believe, as their nation's. ......
 
• Silicon Valley groups to raise $25 million for quake victims
• Rediff on Net, February 3, 2001
>>> More than 25 Silicon Valley organisations have joined hands to raise $25 million for the Gujarat earthquake victims. ......
 
• What next in Kashmir?
• Editorial, Dawn, February 3, 2001
>>> The Indian government's decision to withdraw some of its troops and heavy equipment from the Line of Control in Kashmir is encouraging. The lowering of the militarization level in a conflict-ridden region always proves beneficial for peace. ......
 
• Gunmen Shoot Six Sikhs in India's Kashmir State
• Qaiser Mirza, The Associated Press, February 4, 2001
>>> Gunmen killed six people in a drive-by shooting and injured five others in India's violence-wracked Kashmir state, police said Sunday. The attack took place late Saturday in downtown Shrinagar as the victims were returning home from work, said police officer Ghulam Hasan Bhatt. ......
 
• Mother Tells of Ordeal as a "Sex Slave" for NATO Soldiers
• Moldavian, Zenit.org, February 4, 2001
>>> For Anna, a 28-year-old Moldavian mother, a promise of work in Italy turned out to be the start of a nightmare. ......
 
• Killer quake breathes life into 'mythical' Saraswati river
• Ravi S. Jha, www.thenewspapertoday.com, February 5, 2001
>>> The Saraswati river -- the missing third link in  Allahabad's Sangam -- is making a sudden, pleasant  appearance in quake-injured Gujarat. Scientists say  shifting of tectonic plates in the Allah Bund fault area  has led to a geographical osmosis in the Rann of Kutch  area, pushing the hitherto mythical Saraswati over-ground in surprise spurts. ......
 
• Indonesian Christians forced into Islamic faith
• Alex Spillius, The Telegraph, February 5, 2001
>>> The religious strife in the Spice Islands has extended to the violent conversion of local Christians, followed by involuntary and unanaesthetised circumcisions. Thomas Rusin, a Roman Catholic villager, was given his new name - Hasim - at gunpoint by a mob in a mosque. ......
 
• Inside Jihad
• Ghulam Hasnain, www.time.com, February 5, 2001
>>> Four bearded militants warm themselves at a gas heater in an Islamabad safe house. A wireless set suddenly crackles. "Our boys have entered Srinagar Airport," a grave, distant-sounding voice announces. ......
 
• Sikh body blames India for Srinagar killings
• www.jang.com, February 5, 2001
>>> The Indian government cannot  deceive the world conscience by blaming mujahideen for the killing of  eight Sikhs in Held Kashmir and the time is not far when songs of independence  would echo in Khalistan and Kashmir. These views were expressed by Chief of  Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) Wadhawa Singh Babbar in a statement  issued from London on Sunday. ......
 
• Verdict Signals Christian Blood Is Cheap, Copt Warns
• Zenit.org, February 5, 2001
>>> Muslims are now "encouraged to kill Christians" in Egypt after a court this week acquitted most of those accused of massacring Christians in January last year, a leading Coptic cleric charged. ......
 
• Vitriol from the viceregal lodge of yore
• Arvind Lavakare, Rediff on Net, February 6, 2001
>>> Congressman K R Narayanan, alias President of India, has been at his favourite pastime yet again -- hurling vitriolic barbs at the BJP-led coalition in the capital. ......
 
• Vajpayee is a moderate: Musharraf
• Rediff on Net, February 6, 2001
>>> Describing Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a moderate surrounded by hawks, Pakistan military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf said he was prepared to invite the Indian prime minister to Islamabad in a bid to resolve the Kashmir issue. ......
 
• Two men and a ray of hope
• Wilson John, The Pioneer, February 7, 2001
>>> There are two men in the Vajpayee government who stand apart for their stature, their initiative and integrity. Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes. ......
 
• Hurriyat's real face: `Kashmir part of Pak'
• Rahul Datta, The Daily Pioneer, February 7, 2001
>>> The Centre's peace initiative in Kashmir means nothing to  the Hurriyat Conference hardliners and one of its key members, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, telephonically  addressed a gathering of the Lashkar-e-Toiba  (LeT) at Muridke near Lahore on Monday. ......
 
• ‘Dead bodies will be returned if cricket team visits Pak.’
• B. Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu, February 7, 2001
>>> The Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen.  Pervez Musharraf, might  have been sober in his speech at Muzaffarabad on the  occasion of `Kashmir Solidarity  Day' on Monday but militant organisations had a free run  in their anti-India tirade. ......
 
• Press Release - Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gujrat
• February 7, 2001
>>> Strongly objecting to the wild allegations that Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers hijacked trucks carrying relief materials, which appeared in the Indian Express and the Hindu, VHP has decided to file defamation suits against both the publications. ......
 
• US Senator questions India sanctions regime
• Agence France-Presse, February 7, 2001
>>> Influential US Senator John Kerry on Wednesday added his voice to mounting calls for a review of US-led sanctions on India, imposed after it conducted nuclear weapons tests in 1998. ......
 
• Indian Embassy in US receives quake contributions
• The Hindu, February 8, 2001
>>> The Indian Embassy in Washington and office of the Consul General, New York, have received a sum of $300,000 from both Americans and Indian-Americans for the Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund, Anil Choudhry, Minister, Community Affairs, said here today. ......
 
• Dhaka pressed on anti-Hindu law
• Zubair Ahmed, BBC News, February 8, 2001
>>> Bangladesh has drafted a bill to repeal a  controversial 30-year-old law which enabled the state to seize the property left behind by Indians. ......
 
• Why is being a good Hindu politically incorrect in secular India?
• Pritish Nandy, Rediff on Net, February 8, 2001
>>> Last week I wrote about the inaugural address by the new American President George W Bush and how he referred in it, again and again, to God, the Bible and Christian values. ......
 
• Sikh migration looms large in the Valley
• The Indian Express, February 8, 2001
>>> The central team that made an assessment of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of massacre of six Sikhs on Feburary four has conveyed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that the community would migrate from the state if foolproof security was not provided to them. ......
 
• Sharon demands Palestinians halt `terror'
• The Times of India, February 9, 2001
>>> A powerful car bomb exploded in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem on Thursday, sending tremors through Israel just two days after right-wing leader Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister. ......
 
• Bush advised to stay away from Kashmir
• The Hindustan Times, February 9, 2001
>>> A leading conservative think-tank has advised the Bush administration not to get involved in the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan or attempt to mediate in the dispute. ......
 
• What should we do with China?
• M V Kamath, The Free Press Journal, February 1, 2001
>>> Li Peng, considered the second most important man in China has come and gone making some right noises. In all he spent nine days in the country. The belief is that he would not have wasted nine long days in India if, in the end, he had nothing to offer to India or get from India. ......
 
• Advani sets a sterling example
• Deepak Sharma, The Pioneer, February 3, 2001
>>> He did not utter a word against anybody. But he realised what had gone wrong and what had to be done. Unprecedented destruction needs unprecedented attention. No wonder he rushed to Gujarat for the third time within five days after the quake rocked the State. ......
 
• ‘Everyone was working for a common humanitarian cause’ (Interview)
• Swati Sucharita, The Times of India, February 4, 2001
>>> Dr Hasmukh Vora, a gastroenterologist surgeon attached to V. S. General Hospital in Ahmedabad, has just returned from a relief camp set up by the Ahmedabad-based Adani Trust in Bhuj and Bhachau. Dr Vora, who led a medical team there, also has the Latur experience behind him. ......
 
• ‘Govt should look at credit lending, not charity for the quake victims’ (Interview)
• Pamela Philipose, The Indian Express, February 5, 2001
>>> It has been called Bangladesh’s most successful export – the idea of a “grameen bank”. For Muhammad Yunus, 60, founder of the original Grameen Bank, which after 26 years of existence lends to some 2.4 million people – 94 per cent of whom are women – sees credit as a basic human right and believes microcredit has the potential of unleashing the creativity of people who are otherwise left out of the loop. ......
 
• Tale of Two States
• Editorial, The Times of India, February 5, 2001
>>> The silver lining to the death and destruction visited upon Gujarat is surety the electrifying response to the tragedy. For evidence, just look at the juxtaposition of both aspects on television channels and in newspaper reports. For every image of untold devastation, there’s been an equally potent opposite: Hope has indeed followed in the footsteps of despair. ......
 
• Round and about
• Busybee, Afternoon Despatch & Courier, February 5, 2001
>>> Last night, on Star News you must have seen a foreigner, a member of one of the rescue reams, paying handsome tributes to the people of Gujarat. ......
 
• Musharraf pledges support for Kashmiri militants
• The Times of India, February 5, 2001
>>> Military ruler General Pervez Musharraf on Monday renewed support for Kashmiris as Pakistan observed a day of solidarity for the 12-year-old Muslim separatist campaign in Kashmir. ......
 
• Dhaka pressed on anti-Hindu law
• Zubair Ahmed, BBC News, February 8, 2001
>>> Bangladesh has drafted a bill to repeal a controversial 30-year-old law which enabled the state to seize the property left behind by Indians. ......
 
• A fragile ceasefire frays more
• Ashwani Talwar, The Times of India, February 8, 2001
>>> It was always a fragile ceasefire. The militants never accepted it and the security forces were increasingly interpreting it the way it suited them. The gunning down of six Sikhs right in the state capital has not made things any better. ......
 
• Lessons at the Maha Kumbh
• Rajiv Chandran, The Indian Express, February 8, 2001
>>> Visiting the Maha Kumbh Mela definitely rates as one of the most profound experiences for my dancer-wife Geeta and yours truly. To behold the throbbing energy and fervour of millions of common people who had trudged on foot from their distant villages, propelled merely by faith, was astounding. ......
 
• Kaiser Doctor Joins Rescue Mission in Bhuj
• Viji Sundram, India West, February 9, 2001
>>> When Dr. Mihir Meghani trained a couple of years ago in disaster medical relief, he didn't dream that he would be providing it in a town that had been leveled by a powerful earthquake. ......
 
• Catholic RSS (letter)
• M G Vaidya, The Times of India, February 9, 2001
>>> This is with reference to the editorial, ‘Political Aftershocks’ (Feb 2 (sic)), in which you have said that “there are, however, unconfirmed reports from Gujarat that the ideological bias of the RSS towards certain communities and castes is already evident in the task of providing relief.”  Although this assertion is indicative of the usual anti-RSS proclivity, we have been hurt by it. ......
 
• In self-destruct mode
• Saeed Naqvi, The Indian Express, February 9, 2001
>>> Just when New Delhi is contemplating its response on Pakistan, comes the latest assessment by Standard and Poor, placing Pakistan so far down in sovereign ratings as to be a cause for general concern. ......
 
• UN agencies praise Gujarat for quake relief support
• The Navhind Times, February 10, 2001
>>> The beleaguered Gujarat government has finally something to cheer about with several international agencies praising it for the support they received in alleviating the misery and sufferings of those affected by the January 26 earthquake. ......
 
• Bhujbal friend & prime suspect in riots held
• The Indian Express, February 10, 2001
>>> Shaikh Salim Abbas, who is an associate of deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and a member of the local peace committee, has been arrested by the police as the prime suspect behind the recent riots in Nashik city. ......
 
• Enough of ceasefire in Kashmir - Focus needs to be shifted to the people
• P. C. Dogra, www.tribuneindia.com, February 10, 2001
>>> We are going through the third month of ceasefire. It has been a very bold step. It sent the right signal to the people of Kashmir and the rest of the world about the sincerity of the Indian nation on finding an amicable solution to the Kashmir problem. ......
 
• Hurriyat to open four overseas offices
• The Times of India, February 11, 2001
>>> The Hurriyat Conference would soon be setting up four new offices abroad as part of its programme to create awareness about the Kashmir issue, former chairman of the conglomerate Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said here Sunday. ......
 
• Born in Georgia, killed in Persia, found in Goa
• Meenakshi Rao, The Pioneer, February 11, 2001
>>> She was the Queen of Georgia in difficult times; she was the prisoner of the Shah of Persia in an even more volatile era; she was publicly executed in Persia after she refused to convert to Islam; a devout Christian, she was bestowed sainthood by the Pope way back in the 17th century. ......
 
• So many Pakistans
• Dileep Padgaonkar, The Times of India, February 11, 2001
>>> Not even the most hardened cynic could have failed to warm up to the scene. Here was a group of Pakistanis, most of them barely out of their teens, chatting with a few Indian journalists for well over an hour. ......
 
• Should Vajpayee invite Musharraf for talks? (Part – I)
• Ayaz Amir, The Times of India, February 11, 2001
>>> The ball is in India's court for once that cliche is a guide to clear thinking. It is for India to decide whether it wants to remain stuck in a time warp or whether it wants to inject some movement into a frozen situation. ......
 
• Should Vajpayee invite Musharraf for talks? (Part – II)
• K R. Malkani, The Times of India, February 11, 2001
>>> We have been discussing Kashmir off and on for half-a-century without any result. There is no point in heads of government meeting, re-stating their old positions, finding the gulf unbridgeable and then going home, sadder and no wiser. Summit meetings raise hopes, and when these expectations are stymied, there is recriminations and matters get worse. ......
 
• J&K militants step up heat; use ceasefire to regroup
• The Times of India, The Times of India, February 12, 2001
>>> Militants attacked the house of Jammu and Kashmir law minister P L Handoo in Anantnag on Saturday, a day after 15 people were burnt alive in Rajouri district, even as there were reports that militants were taking advantage of the ceasefire to regroup and arm themselves with new weapons. ......
 
• India refuses visas for Afghan Hindus in Germany
• The Navhind Times, February 12, 2001
>>> Hindu refugees fleeing religious fanaticism and the civil war in Afghanistan may have found shelter in Germany, but they have complained of extreme difficulties in securing visas to India. ......
 
• India wary as China steps over the thin red line
• Rahul Datta, The Pioneer, February 12, 2001
>>> The army has expressed serious concern over Chinese intrusions in the no man's land and de-militarised zone in the Ladakh sector and construction of all-weather roads there. ......
 
• Sikhs appeal to Muslim separatists for protection in Kashmir
• Agence France-Presse, February 12, 2001
>>> Prominent Indian Sikh leaders appealed to Muslim separatist groups Monday to protect their community in India's troubled Kashmir region following a massacre. ......
 
• Residents chip in for temple renovation
• www.indiatimes.com, February 12, 2001
>>> The residents of Heravanadu, Avandoor and Bettageri on Tuesday contributed their bit to the restoration of a Shiva temple, which was explored recently. ......
 
• Advani denies disparity in distribution of relief goods
• The Economic Times, February 12, 2001
>>> Union home minister L K Advani on Sunday asserted that there was no discrimination in distribution of relief material to the earthquake victims in Gujarat. ......
 
• EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH: Indians reach out to help homeland
• Glenn Puit, The Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 12, 2001
>>> Dr. Nutan Parikh is nearly 8,000 miles away from his native India, but he hasn't forgotten about those he left behind in 1983. ......
 
• Khatami warns hardliners
• BBC News, February 13, 2001
>>> Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami has issued a tough warning to conservative forces in country, saying that security could get out of control if the people were deceived. ......
 
• Vietnam Assails U.S. Hearings on Religion - Calls It “Gross Interference”
• Zenit.org, February 13, 2001
>>> Vietnam said that deliberate attempts were being made to undermine rapprochement with the United States, ahead of U.S. hearings on religious freedom in this Southeast Asian country, BBC reported today. ......
 
• Tears for fears - Saisuresh Sivaswamy
• Rediff on Net, February 13, 2001
>>> Cartoonists, if you stop to think about it, are the essence of any publication. If a picture spoke a thousand words, a good cartoon speaks much more than 1,000-odd word commentaries we pen-pushers routinely churn out. R K Laxman, in my opinion, says in that little cubicle on the front page of The Times of India much more than what that paper's entire edit page does. ......
 
• Militants killed 242 people after ceasefire in Indian Kashmir
• Agence France-Presse, February 14, 2001
>>> Militants killed 242 people in restive Indian Kashmir during the period of a unilateral ceasefire declared by New Delhi, a state official said Wednesday. ......
 
• China aiding Pak produce nukes
• Rahul Datta, The Pioneer, February 14, 2001
>>> China is actively helping Pakistan to produce weapons grade Plutonium from spent fuel despite assurances to the United States of America that it would desist from supplying nuclear weapon technology to a third country. ......
 
• ‘No community can live in isolation’
• Cyril D'Cunha, The Times of India, February 15, 2001
>>> With `sons of the soil' demanding a share in the pie of government set-up, the question of identity in terms of religion, language and tradition becomes all too crucial. ......
 
• Rehabilitation Projects
• Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gujarat Pradesh, Bhukamp Sahayata Samiti
>>> Blueprint of Rehabilitation Projects in the Quake-affected Areas of Gujarat ......
 
• Rehabilitation Projects
• Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gujarat Pradesh, Bhukamp Sahayata Samiti
>>> Blueprint of Rehabilitation Projects in the Quake-affected Areas of Gujarat ......
 
• Qur’an: A Work of Multiple Hands?
• Denis Giron, www.infidels.org
>>> [The Qur'an] is strikingly lacking in overall structure, frequently obscure and inconsequential in both language and content, perfunctory in its linking of disparate materials, and given to the repetition of whole passages in variant versions. ......
 
• Statement by Shri Mohan Bhagwat, General Secretary, R.S.S
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, New Delhi 110055
>>> The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh takes a very serious view of the cold blooded murder of four of its workers on Saturday, 10th February, 2001, at Sonakhali village under Basand police station in South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. ......
 
• Top journalists receive tips on coverage from Dalai Lama
• Audrey Ronning Topping, Earth Times News Service, February 2001
>>> The Dalai Lama has offered some unique advice to leading members of the world media: "Journalists should have a long nose, an elephant's nose, so you can sniff all around, above and below. You should investigate with a sincere motivation. You should investigate everyone, even me!" ......
 
• Testing political waters
• Seshadri Chari, Organiser, February 4, 2001
>>> The Kumbh mela is no ordinary event. The Mahakumbh certainly is not. Needless to say, it has turned out to be the major event in the beginning of the millennium. Besides, being the first in the new millennium, this Mahakumbh is occurring after one hundred and forty four years. ......
 
• A futile controversy
• Shyam Khosla, Organiser, February 4, 2001
>>> Separatist elements among the Sikhs and the Communists, who are always on the look out for a half a chance to spread venom and cause disharmony among Punjabis, have raised a totally unwarranted and futile controversy about Sikh identity. ......
 
• ‘I’d rather risk death by opening my shop than beg’
• Rediff on Net, February 5, 2001
>>> The roof could come crashing down on Mukesh Shah's head at any moment, but the Indian businessman says he would rather risk death by opening his shop in the quake-hit Indian town of Bhuj than beg on the streets. ......
 
• Taliban fighters ‘massacre 300 Shia Muslims’
• Ahmed Rashid, The Telegraph, February 7, 2001
>>> At least 300 people were massacred by Taliban forces last month when they re-took a remote area in central Afghanistan inhabited by Shia Muslim Afghans who are opposed to the Sunni Taliban, United Nations officials fear. ......
 
• Senator Urges New Course With India
• J.M. Shenoy, Rediff on Net (US, Edition), February 13, 2001
>>> The problems that America has with China should hasten the creation of a closer relationship with India, a powerful Republican senator said as he made a passionate plea for “across-the-board” close relations between New Delhi and Washington. ......
 
• Bengal: Escape into magical realism
• Premen Addy, Business Line, February 13, 2001
>>> ``I have seen the future and it works,'' is the remark attributed to an enthusiastic visitor to the Soviet Union in the 1920s. A few years later, Sydney and Beatrice Webb described the USSR as a ``new civilisation''. ......
 
• Countering militancy
• Editorial, Dawn, February 14, 2001
>>> The government's decision to ban the collection of funds by jihadi organizations is a step that has been long overdue. One only hopes that the government is aware of the enormity of the task that confronts it, given the religious parties' assertive spirit and organizational strength. ......
 
• Thackeray wants Pakistan, India to ‘live and let live’
• Nusrat Javeed, www.jung.com.pk, February 15, 2001
>>> Defying his venom-spitting reputation, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has proposed a "live and let live" policy to Pakistan. "Our problems can only be addressed if the two countries realise that "enough is enough and time has come to live and let live," Thackeray told at his high-security residence. ......
 
• If detecting criminals violates the ceasefire, we can’t help it’
• The Indian Express, February 15, 2001
>>> The Jammu and Kashmir police have been under fire for the past five weeks for alleged custodial killings and violation of the unilateral ceasefire. In fact, the police’s counter-insurgency wing, the Special Operation Group, is being singled out as the public enemy No 1. Director General of Police Ashok Kumar Suri, who took charge in November last year, tried to clear the air withNAZIR MASOODI. ......
 
• Why ban Basant festivities?
• Editorial, Dawn, February 15, 2001
>>> The Karachi administration has banned the celebration of Basant in District South, thereby effectively prohibiting all major hotels and exclusive clubs from organizing any events to mark the advent of spring. ......
 
• Kashmir: dangers and prospects
• Prof. Khurshid Ahmad, Dawn, February 15, 2001
>>> The Kashmir movement has entered a critical and decisive phase. It is, therefore, imperative to analyze the current situation in the light of global trends, twists and turns of diplomacy and conditions prevailing in the country; and to identify the dangers facing Pakistan and the Kashmir movement. ......
 
• Pakistan changes Kashmir tack
• Alexander Evans, BBC News, February 16, 2001
>>> Pakistan has signalled a subtle shift in its Kashmir policy, moving away from a position that has held for over 50 years. ......
 
• Tackling the culture of jihad
• The Guardian, February 16, 2001
>>> Pakistan's military regime has earned the wrath of the country's religious militants by warning that it will crack down on their fund raising and the widespread use of illegal weapons. ......
 
• Malaysian clerics rant against Bollywood
• The Times of India, February 16, 2001
>>> A national body of Muslim clerics has urged the Malaysian government to limit television airtime for Indian-made Hindi movies because they promote "immoral values," news reports said on Thursday. ......
 
• Chargesheet against Bukhari soon, says Delhi govt
• The Times of India, February 16, 2001
>>> Chargesheet against former Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Abdullah Bukhari in a sedition case for allegedly making anti-national speech will be filed soon as investigation has been completed, the Delhi High Court was informed on Friday. ......
 
• Intelligence agencies apprehensive about security as relief pours in
• Ajay Kaul, Rediff on Net, February 16, 2001
>>> As relief supplies continue to pour into quake-devastated Kutch, intelligence agencies fear that some anti-national elements may also enter this sensitive border area, which may be detrimental to the national security. ......
 
• Rattling our cage
• Irfan Husain, Dawn, February 17, 2001
>>> Rattle the gorilla's cage and watch it explode with fury, shaking its enclosure but unable to reach its tormentor. Rattle it harder and the beast will beat its chest in rage, hurting only itself. ......
 
• Clinton mobilising relief for Gujarat
• The Times of India, February 17, 2001
>>> Former US president Bill Clinton has agreed to serve on the board of the American Indian Foundation (AIF) formed by prominent US-based Indians here to render relief to quake-hit victims of Gujarat by adopting villages. ......
 
• Zero-Tolerance Islam in Northern Nigeria
• Zenit.org, February 17, 2001
>>> The introduction of Islamic law, or Shariah, in many of the northern states of Nigeria is making life difficult for Christians. ......
 
• Trigger Happy: Arms Sales fall, but not in third World
• Zenit.org, February 17, 2001
>>> Arms exports have been declining since the end of the Cold War, but the Third World is buying a bigger share of the weapons. ......
 
• Hizb threatens to target families of Indian troops
• The Times of India, February 17, 2001
>>> The Hizbul Mujahideen has threatened Saturday to target families of Indian troops in retaliation for the deaths of civilians. ......
 
• British Muslims ‘fear’ new terrorism law
• Naresh Puri, BBC News, February 19, 2001
>>> The legislation bans fundraising and support for groups deemed terrorists and British citizens who incite terrorist activities abroad could now face arrest. ......
 
• Kabul agrees to extradite Osama to Saudi Arabia
• Rauf Klasra, Dawn, February 19, 2001
>>> Afghanistan has agreed to extradite Osama bin Laden to his home country Saudi Arabia for trial on charges of terrorism, Dawn learnt from authoritative sources here on Sunday. ......
 
• What are Islamic fundamentalists doing in porn sites? The CIA tells you...
• Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, The Hindustan Times, February 19, 2001
>>> Now we know how jehadis get their kicks. CIA chief George Tenet let it out of the brown paper bag during a session with US Senators. Osama bin Laden and other Islamicists, it seems, use cyberporn to send messages secure from Western intelligence's peeping Toms. ......
 
• NLFT kills four RSS activists
• Nitin Gogoi, Rediff on Net, February 19, 2001
>>> The banned National Liberation Front of Tripura has killed four Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks it had held captive since August 1999. ......
 
• Pakistani Journalists May Face Death for Publishing Letter
• Barry Bearak, New York Times, February 19, 2001
>>> That calamitous night, the editor left in charge of the newspaper's letters page was a heroin addict, just a few days out of detox. ......
 
• Islamic sympathisers targeted by new law
• Sky News, February 19, 2001
>>> New anti-terror laws come into effect on Monday, which could be used to target groups using Britain as a base for terrorist acts. ......
 
• RSS for negotiated settlement to Ayodhya tangle
• PTI, The Hindu, February 20, 2001
>>> The RSS today said it preferred a negotiated settlement to the Ayodhya tangle even as it indicated that Kashi and Mathura continued to be on the Sangh Parivar agenda. ......
 
• It’s anger for some, adventure for others and headache for poliice
• Muzamil Jaleel, The Indian Express, February 20, 2001
>>> They are not trained militants, they don't carry Kalashnikovs but the police and security forces find it difficult to tackle them. They are the children of the Valley, who have taken to the streets grabbing the easiest available weapon -- stones. ......
 
• Shivaji dominates Agra Fort now
• Deepak Sharma, The Pioneer, February 20, 2001
>>> It was yet another historic moment. One that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb would have never thought of. After 335 years, a grand and imposing statue of Shivaji was installed just in front of the Red Fort, Agra where Chatrapati Shivaji was once imprisoned by Mughal monarch. And guess who unveiled the statue? None other than the Union Home Minister L K Advani. ......
 
• Bush’s Call to Church Groups to Get Untraditional Replies
• Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times, February 20, 2001
>>> After eight years in prison, Joseph Fabio now lives in a halfway house next to a funeral home here, where counselors have helped him steer clear of drugs, find a job in a gas station and contain the uncontrollable anger that earned him a murder sentence at age 18. ......
 
• An Unprecedented Pitch to Italian Political Leaders
• Zenit.org, February 20, 2001
>>> The Vatican has begun an unprecedented series of meetings with leaders of all political parties to express the concerns of the Catholic electorate. ......
 
• An Unprecedented Pitch to Italian Political Leaders
• Zenit.org, February 20, 2001
>>> The Vatican has begun an unprecedented series of meetings with leaders of all political parties to express the concerns of the Catholic electorate. ......
 
• Pakistan pins hopes on US intervention: Nuclear fuel for India
• Dawn, February 20, 2001
>>> Pakistani diplomats here hope that the Bush administration will seriously pursue the issue of nuclear fuel supplies to India by the Russian Federation that was underlined by the State Department last week. ......
 
• Vinod Khanna chips in to build a ‘commune’
• Kingshuk Nag, Times of India, February 21, 2001
>>> Usually a lot of hype surrounds the activities of filmstars, even if it involves raising funds for charity. But here is film star-turned-politician Vinod Khanna in Gandhidham, busy setting up a `commune' for the quake-affected, and nobody other than the locals knows anything about it. ......
 
• Who is Hindu?
• Rakesh Bhatnagar, www.indiatime.com, February 21, 2001
>>> Though the terms "Hindu" , "Hinduism" and of course, "Hindutva" have assumed significance in the current socio-political set up, it however remained a crucial proposition for the Supreme Court to define it in a manner to suit the various laws governing the community. ......
 
• Muslims threaten to topple Trinidad government
• The Jang, February 21, 2001
>>> Port of Spain, Trinidad - The leader of a radical Muslim group which tried in 1990 to overthrow Trinidad and Tobago's government said his group is poised to launch another coup. ......
 
• Ceasing to impress
• Anil Narendra, The Pioneer, February 21, 2001
>>> The "moderates" may be calling the Jammu & Kashmir ceasefire an Indian victory. They may be trying to convince the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that Pakistan stands isolated, and that the day may not be far when General Pervez Musharraf will fall on his knees and beg him for a settlement of the Kashmir problem. ......
 
• Chinese Uighur militants killed in Kashmir: Report
• The Times of India, February 21, 2001
>>> Indian troops shot dead four Uighur militants from China's northwestern Xinjiang province in Kashmir last month, media reported on Wednesday. ......
 
• And now, Chinese jehadis
• Shishir Gupta, The Hindustan Times, February 21, 2001
>>> India and China now seem to have a common enemy: Islamic fundamentalism. In the third week of January, the Indian armed forces gunned down four mercenaries in the Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The odd thing was the militants had mongoloid features. ......
 
• 5,000-year-old Harappan site razed
• Hitarth Pandya, The Asian Age, February 1, 2001
>>> The 5,000-year-dld Harappan site near Dholavira in Gujarat has been totally destroyed in the earthquake, There is no news about the fate of five Bhuj sub-circle officials of the Archaeological Survey of India, who were posted at the site. ......
 
• Round and about
• Afternoon Despatch & Courier, February 5, 2001
>>> Last night, on Star News you must have seen a foreigner, a member of one of the rescue reams, paying handsome tributes to the people of Gujarat. ......
 
• Musharraf under pressure from Pakistan’s Islamists: analysts
• The Free Press Journal, February 5, 2001
>>> As angry mobs of religious students set fire to a popular cinema in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar last week, many observers saw more than just a thriving business going up in smoke, reports AFP. ......
 
• Operation Bhuj!
• Afternoon Despatch & Courier, February 5, 2001
>>> I’ve experienced earthquakes before in Israel, Mexico and California... but none so severe! Friday, January 26, I was lazing in bed, when the various bells in my 22nd-floor apartment on Peddar Road started tinkling. ......
 
• Essentially secular
• Editorial, The Asian Age, February 6, 2001
>>> Hope was regenerated from death and decay, from the stink of rotting bodies amidst the rubble in Gujarat. Communal hostilities were buried in the tragedy and humanity was given a chance yet again to establish its supremacy. ......
 
• Our seismologists venture where Japanese fear to tread
• A.K.R. Hemmady, Organiser, February 11, 2001
>>> Indian seismologists undeterred by a woeful lack of supporting data due mainly to inadequate scientific where withals, not only go ahead to predict earthquakes but also draw rather profound statistical conclusions. ......
 
• CPM atrocities against Muslims continue
• S. Chandrasekhar, Organiser, February 11, 2001
>>> The CPM’s claim of being the sole saviour of the minorities received a strong blow with the reports of violence and destruction let loose by their goons on Muslim pockets of Kozhikkode district like Nadapuram and the nearby areas coming out. ......
 
• The birth of Jesus – A Legend
• Fr. Nettiyadan, Organiser, February 11, 2001
>>> Christian religious tradition is not necessarily scientific or rational. The ongoing battle between science and religion cannot be missed. The rejection of the authority of the Church was necessary for the development of science. ......
 
• Remarks uncalled for
• Shyam Khosla, Organiser, February 11, 2001
>>> It is no surprise that President K.R. Narayanan’s stringent criticism of the “consultation papers” released by the Constitution Review Commission and his totally unwarranted comparison of the proposal to introduce “indirect” elections to President Ayub Khan’s discredited concept of “Basic democracy” has kicked up a big row. ......
 
• RSS meet at Muslim area in Delhi creates tension
• The Asian Age, February 15, 2001
>>> Tension gripped the Muslim-dominated Khajurikhas area of northeast district on Tuesday morning following the RSS insistence on holding its shakha meeting at the Ram Lila Grounds. However, the Delhi police claimed that the situation was under control. ......
 
• UK diagnosis of Ayurveda leaves India with hiccups
• Sanchita Sharma, The Indian Express, February 15, 2001
>>> India House in London is seething over what is seen as a big snub to Indian medicine by Britain. The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, in its sixth report, recently dismissed ayurveda as “unscientific”. ......
 
• Syed clarifies!
• Syed Shahbuddin, BJP Today, February 16-28, 2001
>>> Apropos Shri T.R. Gopalan’s letter in your issue of December 16-31, 2000) asking me to clarify my thoughts, I must try to remove his confusion. ......
 
• Battle concrete – Army plays a hero’s role
• B. Krishnakumar, The Week, February 18, 2001
>>> On February 4, a team from the 12 Engineering Regiment was at work in Bhuj struggling to pull down a five-storey building that seemed to be leaning on thin air. Implosion was not feasible given its precarious tilt. ......
 
• Acts of living and survival
• Shobha De, The Week, February 18, 2001
>>> The story of the devastating earthquake in Gujarat is the story of women. Those who survived it. And those who are now putting their shattered homes and lives together. ......
 
• In Kutch, Muslims prefer relief provided by VHP
• Milind Ghatwal, The Indian Express, February 20, 2001
>>> The Muslim clergy in Kutch have boycotted the Ahmediyas, a Pak-based Muslim group, asking its members not to accept any relief from the latter.  Muslims do not recognise the Ahmediya sect and accuse it of blasphemy. ......
 
• Gurudaspur lends a helping hand to Gandhidham
• D V Maheshwari, The Indian Express, February 20, 2001
>>> If you are a quake-hit person with no roof over your head and in search of a decent shelter, then the one set up by the people of Gurudaspur, Punjab, at the port-town of Gandhidham under the supervision of film actor Vinod Khanna is not a bad place to live in. ......
 
• ‘Wrong policies’ prompt top Bengal CPM leader to quit
• Santanu Banerjee, The Indian Express, February 21, 2001
>>> Close on the heels of the expulsion of rebel leader Saifuddin Chowdhury and the ensuing ruckus in the party, yet another party leader, this time South 24.-Paraganas district committee secretary, Samir Putatunda, has quit saying the "widening ideological cleavage had become unbridgeable." ......
 
• No commitment made to re-build mosque: Rao
• The Navhind Times, February 21, 2001
>>> The former prime minister, Mr. P V Narasimha Rao, on Tuesday told the Justice Liberhan Commission of inquiry that there was no commitment from his government to re-build the Babri mosque demolished in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 on the same place. ......
 
• An involved mindset
• J. N. Dixit, The Indian Express, February 21, 2001
>>> I visited Pakistan late January last to participate in a conference in which the Islamabad Policy Research Institute and the Delhi Policy Group on Nuclear Risk Reduction participated. ......
 
• Gujarat quake disaster: help came from all: RSS to the forefront
• M V Kamath, The Free Press Journal, February 22, 2001
>>> There is something very touching about the manner in which nations, organisations, institutions and individuals have responded to the disastrous earthquake in Gujarat that has already taken several thousand lives and left behind thousands more injured or orphaned. ......
 
• New-Age Ki Culture Lures Christians in South Korea
• ZENIT.org, February 23, 2001
>>> The Church in South Korea is warning Catholics about the Ki culture, a New Age-style movement that mixes health programs with faulty religious ideas. ......
 
• Children of a Lesser God
• Rajeev Srinivasan, Rediff on Net, February 23, 2001
>>> The rantings of one T John, an erstwhile minister in the Karnataka government, are now well known: he claimed that "God was punishing Gujarat and Orissa for attacks on Christians." ......
 
• Militants in conversion confession
• The Telegraph, February 23, 2001
>>> The outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura has admitted that its policy of forced conversion of Hindu tribals to Christianity had backfired. The outfit also blamed a former advisor for its religious policy. ......
 
• House concerned over ‘Greater Bangla’ move
• www.assamtribune.com, February 24, 2001
>>> Members of the State Assembly today expressed serious concern over the proposal mooted by a section of Bangladeshi intellectuals to divide India to form a confederation comprising Bangladesh, North-east States of India and West Bengal. ......
 
• VHP leaders meet PM
• The Hindu, February 24, 2001
>>> Senior Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders today met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and demanded immediate return of the land acquired by the Government in Ayodhya and removal of all legal obstacles to pave the way for the construction of the Ram temple there. ......
 
• India lowest contributor of greenhouse gases: UNEP
• The Hindu, February 24, 2001
>>> India is the least contributing nation to the greenhouse gases while the United States contributes the most, an UN environment agency has said. ......
 
• Courageous Archbishop Brings a Red Hat to Dublin
• Zenit.org, February 25, 2001
>>> Archbishop Desmond Connell may have been made a cardinal last week for the same reason he is such a controversial figure in Ireland: his robust defense of Church teachings. ......
 
• The Remains of Days Past
• Soutik Biswas, Outlook, February 26, 2001
>>> It's a truly majestic 18th century palace, ironically flanked by a modern-day 500,000-litre water tank. If you ignore this brick-and-mortar monstrosity, the Darbargadh in Morbi—a bustling 800-year-old trading outpost for some 230 villages in western Gujarat—is a revelation: fine ashlar masonry—masonry of hewed or square stone—on handsome yellow sandstone where strains of neo-Gothic and Graeco-Roman styles clash happily in a high noon of eclecticism in architecture. ......
 
• Hope In Hell
• Sudeep Chakravarti, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Hope and renewal. If these didn't follow devastation, death would be replaced by despair-and that can be just as deadly. Almost four weeks after the earthquake, Gujarat is still coming to terms with what was and what is. ......
 
• Mother Courage
• Ratiben Govinda & Sudeep Chakravarti, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Every day, for the past three weeks, Ratiben Govinda has conducted a ritual. Awakening in the darkness of dawn in a shelter made of tattered plastic sheets and jute, she wakes her five children and washes them. ......
 
• Flower Child
• Riddhi Dangar & Sudeep Chakravarti, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> She has 14 stitches across her scalp. She is four. And she is the symbol of hope for an entire village. Riddhi Deodan Dangar crawled out of the rubble, bleeding, screaming-and alive. She haltingly recounts the day, gently urged by grandmother Hiruben. "The house started to move, then it became like the night. And then I remember nothing." ......
 
• City Light
• Bharat Shah & Uday Mahurkar, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Bharat Shah has a 7 a.m.-to-eternity job, and it doesn't seem to get any less trying. When you are the vice-president of Anjar Municipality, it comes with the turf. Then again, maybe not. Shah has simply chosen it to be this way. ......
 
• Three Good Reasons
• Gita, Hardik, Chandni & Uday Mahurkar, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Prabhulal and Rukmanibai Panchal live in double dread. One, having to lie to their three grandchildren that their parents are alive, that they have "gone to Una to buy medicines". The other, coming to terms with the realisation that retirement will have to wait a few years now; they have the children to bring up. ......
 
• Heart & Soul
• Dawa Tsering & Uday Mahurkar, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> The group sings a song in chorus, a lilting melody of freedom that no outsider can understand. But they know it must mean something for there to be so much emotion. "In our dream last night we were in our beloved Tibet/ But when we woke up we found ourselves in India/ We miss Tibet/ So let's get together and get what we desire: Tibet." ......
 
• Afghan statues face destruction
• BBC News, February 26, 2001
>>> The Taleban condemn statues as false gods and idols Afghanistan's ruling Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, has ordered the destruction of all statues in the country, including ancient pre- Islamic figures. ......
 
• Overseas Indians welcome UK anti-terrorism laws
• The Times of India, February 26, 2001
>>> The new anti-terrorism laws, designed to prevent extremist groups from using British soil as a base to incite violence overseas, have been welcomed by Overseas Indian Congress, saying it would act as a damper on those raising funds and promoting the cause of militants, among other places, in Kashmir in the name of 'jihad' (holy war). ......
 
• Vajpayee assures support to Fiji’s Chaudhry
• The Times of India, February 26, 2001
>>> Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday assured ousted Fijian premier Mahendra Chaudhry that the Indian government would give "full consideration" to some of the proposals made by him. Chaudhry is seeking international support for the restoration of democracy in his country. ......
 
• Russia to stand by nuclear fuel commitment
• The Times of India, February 26, 2001
>>> Russia has assured India that it will fulfil its commitment to supply nuclear fuel for Tarapur atomic reactors despite the US demand for its cancellation. ......
 
• Are we being taken for a ride?
• M.V. Kamath, Organiser, February 28, 2001
>>> With so much talk about a peace initiative on Kashmir does anyone know what exactly the situation is as of now? What does Pakistan want? What do the various parties in Jammu and Kashmir want? And what is it that India is prepared to give? ......
 
• RSS wants unity, not uniformity of religions
• M.G. Vaidya, Organiser, February 28, 2001
>>> Reports published in a section of media after the recent meeting of RSS leaders with the members of national Minority’s Commission in New Delhi have created confusion that the RSS by recognising Sikhism as a separate religion, has changed its stand. ......
 
• Rebuild Kachchh
• Seshadri Chari, Bharatiya Pragna, February 2001
>>> It is ironical that one of the industrially advanced States, Gujarat, has the most backward district, Kachchh. The dubious distinction this district enjoys is of facing a famine every two or three years. ......
 
• “New Age fascism”: Review of an exercise in Marxist defamation
• Koenraad Elst, Bharatiya Pragna, February 2001
>>> “New Age” is a (by now obsolescent) container term referring to a galaxy of post-Christian religious groping, with various sources of inspiration including humanistic psychotherapy, Hindu-Buddhist meditation, Sino-Japanese “gentle” martial arts, Tantric-Taoist transformation of sexuality, astrology, holistic medicine, and some more. ......
 
• “If you can convert, convert how the Vedic culture is spreading throughout the world”
• Bharatiya Pragna, February 2001
>>> Pragna: Today’s spiritualism does not attract the youth. They see too many don’ts.. opposition to material life completely... in spiritualism. Are spiritualism and materialism two totally opposite ideas? ......
 
• Indology and Racism
• Subhash Kak, Bharatiya Pragna, February 2001
>>> Our narratives about the past are scraps of evidence joined with the glue of imagination. So there can be many narratives and many retellings as the vocabulary changes with time. This is all ancient history can be and we should be satisfied with that. It is sensible to accept that our reconstructions of the past are subjective. ......
 
• A Few Friends In Deed
• Gautam Chikermane, Outlook, February 12, 2001
>>> What can an individual do? Nothing, I thought, and let the statistics—thousands of men, women and children dead, towns turned to rubble, crores damaged—smother my sensitivity. Until Vikrant happened. ......
 
• The Benign Foreign Hand
• Sanjay Suri, Outlook, February 12, 2001
>>> When grisly TV pictures conveyed the mammoth scale of devastation in Gujarat, Indian expatriate families promptly drove down to the Swaminarayan temple in Willesden and the Kutch temple in Kenton, London, donating what is perhaps the most disposable of items: old and discarded clothes. ......
 
• VHP to file defamation suits against newspapers
• The Free Press Journal, February 14, 2001
>>> The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has decided to file a suit against ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Indian Express’ for carrying stories alleging the VHP of adopting communal stance while doing rehabilitation work in earth quake-affected Gujarat. ......
 
• Statement by Sarkaryawah:
• Shree Vishwa Niketan, February 16, 2001
>>> Following statement was issued by Ma. Mohan Bhagwat on February 15th 2001: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh takes a very serious view of the cold blooded murder of four of its workers on Saturday, 10th February 2001, at Sonakhali village under Basanti police station in South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. ......
 
• Earthquake in Gujarat:
• Shree Vishwa Niketan, February 16, 2001
>>> Despite yeoman effort by one and all rendering assistance to affected people, lot is yet to be done. It is unfortunate that some of the English Newspapers have not been able to overcome their hate bias against all that RSS & VHP does. ......
 
• Our visit to Earthquake Victims in Gujarat
• Sr Seema S.H.M., The Examiner, February 17, 2001
>>> We have been well informed through various media regarding the disastrous earthquake of Jan. 26th, 2001 which has taken the lives of over a lakh of people and thousands of people are wounded as well as unimaginable destructions of high rise buildings and other losses of movable and immovable properties. ......
 
• Innocents pay
• Editorial, The Economic Times, February 19, 2001
>>> The situation in Kashmir, we’d suggested earlier, was ill-described by the term ‘ceasefire’. ‘Muted fire’, we argued, was a better description of the reality in the Valley. Recent incidents suggest that even muted fire is increasingly becoming a euphemism for what is happening. ......
 
• ‘Greater Bangladesh’ idea angers Assam
• Wasbir Hussain, February 22, 2001
>>> Here is an uproar in Assam over a "Greater Bangla" proposal mooted in a Net discussion by a group of Bangladeshi intellectuals, who feel that a loose political confederation comprising Bangladesh, West Bengal and the seven northeastern states is indeed feasible. ......
 
• India lowest contributor of greenhouse gases: UNEP
• The Hindu, February 24, 2001
>>> India is the least contributing nation to the greenhouse gases while the United States contributes the most, an UN environment agency has said. ......
 
• Jehad in Kashmir to continue, says Pakistan
• PTI, Hindustan Times, February 24, 2001
>>> Pakistan has said it considered Kashmir as its "unfinished agenda" and that Islamabad wanted jehad (holy war) in Kashmir to continue. ......
 
• Uproar among Fiji's Hindus about denial to perform last rites
• Shailendra Singh, India Abroad, February 25, 2001
>>> Here is uproar in Fiji's Hindu community in the capital here over another family being stopped from scattering the cremated remains of a family member along a shoreline. ......
 
• Kashmiris See Little Hope In Extended Cease-Fire
• Pamela Constable, Washington Post, February 25, 2001
>>> On one side of this northern Kashmir village on Friday, hundreds of Sikh men blocked the highway with bonfires and burned a bus. Enraged by the shooting of a Sikh police driver, reportedly by Muslim guerrillas, they chanted, "Down with the cease-fire!" and "Down with Pakistan!" ......
 
• Osama conundrum: the fourth option
• Ijaz Hussain, Dawn, February 25, 2001
>>> Following the imposition of the second instalment of sanctions against the Taliban government for their refusal to extradite Osama bin Laden and to close the alleged terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, there were widespread demonstrations by the religio-political parties in Pakistan, a steep rise in the prices of daily necessities in impoverished Afghanistan and a large exodus of refugees towards Pakistan. ......
 
• Peaceful democracy or violent zealotry?
• Kunwar Idris, Dawn, February 25, 2001
>>> It is a continuing paradox of Pakistan's politics that every new declaration on democracy takes it closer to authoritarianism. That was the result of Ayub's basic democracy as also of Zia-ul-Haq's Islamic brand. ......
 
• Crime against Humanity
• Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> Close on the heels of massacre of six Sikhs at Mahjoor Nagar in Srinagar, the horrible incident of burning alive 15 members of three families of Gujjar Bakerwal b y the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have put the advocates of jehad in Kashmir in a tight spot. ......
 
• Terrorism – A boon for some
• Khajuria S. Kant, Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> Twelve -year-long terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, which has so far claimed thousands of innocent lives and rendered lakhs homeless, is turning into a boon for some highly influential hawks who have their access to the corridors of power in both the State and the Centre. ......
 
• Where will Laden strike next?
• Muzaffar Hussain, Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> The name Osama bin Laden strikes instant terror in the minds of everyone everywhere. He is a Saudi Arabian millionaire banished from his motherland for terrorist activities. He took shelter in Sudan. ......
 
• RSS and VHP win people’s hearts
• Shyam Khosla, Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> “Saffron is the colour of help’, says a letter to the Editor in The, Pioneer. “The lads in Khaki knickers are once again among the first to offer relief to the calamity struck” announces a headline in Outlook that is no friend of the RSS. ......
 
• Four RSS swayamsevaks brutally murdered in West Bengal
• Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> Four RSS swayamsevaks were brutally murdered at Sonakhali village under Basanti police station in South 24 Pargana district on February 10. The swayamsevaks had gone there to organise a meeting of RSS members on February 11. So far no one has been arrested by the police. ......
 
• Kerala to get Rs.2.5 billion holistic health village
• Sanu George, India Abroad, February 25, 2001
>>> A bureaucrat in Kerala has roped in a spiritual leader to establish a Rs.2.5 billion holistic health village in the state. ......
 
• New Face Of Terror
• Zahid Hussain, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> You can see the fire of Islam glowing in his eyes. His words hit you like jabs, there is so much directness in them. Hafiz Mohammed Sayeed wants One World, One Religion. Even if that means blood must flow in the valleys and mountains of Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia, wherever, all the time. ......
 
• SC issues notice to Medha, Arundhati
• Press Trust News, The Indian Express, February 27, 2001
>>> The Supreme Court today issued notices to Narmada Bachao Andolan leaders Medha Patkar and Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy on a petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against them for staging demonstration before the apex court and allegedly using derogatory language to lower the dignity of the court. ......
 
• Kashmir and the Hindu ethos
• Sandhya Jain, The Pioneer, February 27, 2001
>>> It is truly ironical that Dr Farooq Abdullah, variously berated as a playboy and non-resident politician, should have emerged as the principal proponent of India's civilisational ethos. ......
 
• US human rights record in 2000
• (Released by the Information Office of China's State  Council on Tuesday, Feb 27, 2001)
>>> Since the beginning of the 20th century, the voter  turnout for congressional elections has ranged between 30  and 60 percent.  Meanwhile, the highest voter turnout  rate for presidential elections, which are regarded as  major US political events, stands at 65 percent. ......
 
• All we are breaking are stones: Taliban
• The Times of India, February 27, 2001
>>> The leader of the Taliban Islamic militia in Afghanistan on Tuesday shrugged off international condemnation of his order to destroy ancient Buddhist statues, saying "all we are breaking are stones." ......
 
• America’s silly move over Tarapur
• Inder Malhotra, Afternoon Despatch & Courier, February 27, 2001
>>> After several positive statements and promising indications about its determination to maintain the upswing in Indo-US relations, the month-old Bush administration has made its first false move. It is as hurtful as it is unnecessary. Its baneful consequences, to be discussed in detail presently, are already becoming obvious. The incipient mischief needs to be nipped in the bud in the best interests of both sides. ......
 
• ‘We’ll stay here’
• Saurabh Shah, Mid-Day, February 27, 2001
>>> When the siren blew at 8.46 am in Bhuj calling for two minutes of silence, on Monday morning, we were in Bhachau, 77 km away from Bhuj. Exactly a month ago, 18,122 people were killed in a deadly earthquake in the Kutch district. ......
 
• PM raps oppn for playing politics: Gujarat quake
• The Navhind Times, February 28, 2001
>>> In an unusual display of anger and outrage, the Prime Minister, Mr. A B Vajpayee, today lambasted the opposition on the floor of the Lok Sabha for belittling the efforts of the Keshubhai Patel government in Gujarat in handling the serious problems arising out of the devastating earthquake in the state. ......
 
• “Pakistan wants India to concede more areas beyond LoC”
• www.indya.com, February 28, 2001
>>> Pakistan is of the view that a solution to the Kashmir  issue lay in India ''conceding'' more territory beyond  the Line of Control (LoC) and not by converting the LoC  into an international border. ......
 
• The Haj subsidy: A Himalayan shame
• Bipin Patel (London)

>>> How absurd, if not sad, that India is the only country in the world that provides a subsidy to its second biggest majority for pilgrimage to Mecca; in the pretext of her constitutional obligation (of secular) and latter enacted as the Haj Act, way back in 1959! Thanks to Janab Jawaharlal Nehru, who chose to give this gift to the second biggest majority! ......
 
• The Minority Situation in Bangladesh
• Mayer Dak, February 2001

>>> Members of the minority communities in Bangladesh continued to be subjected to all kinds of extreme tactics, including murder, abductions and rape of women designed at forcing them to quit their 'homeland', which they love so intensely. ......
 
• Rising out of its Own Ashes
• Chetna Galla Sinha and Jayant Diwan, Manushi, Jan-Feb 2001

>>> Since the families of both of us come from Kutch, we felt we had to go and figure out for ourselves ways in which we could be of help to victims of the devastating earthquake. We reached Gandhidham on February 7. ......
 
• Inside Jihad
• Ghulam Hasnain, Time Magazine, February 5, 2001

>>> Four bearded militants warm themselves at a gas heater in an Islamabad safe house. A wireless set suddenly crackles. "Our boys have entered Srinagar Airport," a grave, distant-sounding voice announces. "Pray for them. It has now been 15 minutes." ......
 
• Probe in Bukhari case over, chargesheet to be filed soon
• The Asian Age, February 17, 2001

>>> The Delhi government told the high court on Friday that a chargesheet against the former Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Abdullah Bukhari, in a sedition case for making anti-national remarks during a speech will be filed soon as the investigation had been completed. ......
 
• Building brick by brick
• Seshadri Chari, Organiser, February 18, 2001

>>> The worst earthquake in fifty years that rocked Gujarat on the Republic Day has now been identified as the severest one, measuring 8.1 on Richter scale. The magnitude of the quake, as is evident from the devastation, can also be gauged from the fact that areas from Peshawar to Chennai and Nepal to Mumbai and beyond felt the tremor. ......
 
• Delhi medicos laud relief work by RSS, VHP
• Pramod Kumar, Organiser, February 18, 2001

>>> “We had the impression that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are the organisations launching movements only for temple construction. ......
 
• Bangladesh Judiciary strikes Mullah’s fatwas
• Muzaffar Hussain, Organiser, February 18, 2001

>>> Bangladesh High Court has struck down all fatwas made by the motley mullahs of the country. Now a man cannot divorce his wife merely by repeating verbally talaq twice in the country. The bench of Justice Ghulam Rubbani and Justice Najm Ara Sultana has issued a warrant of arrest against Maulana Azizul Islam for dissolving the marriage of a Muslim couple. ......
 
• It’s business as usual for ‘hi-tech jehadis’
• Rajesh Kumar, The Pioneer, February 21, 2001

>>> Kashmiri militants never leave their "fellow jehadis" in the lurch.   Finances are never a problem when it comes to their legal battles in various courts here.   And their well-oiled machinery ensures that their lawyers don't ditch them midway. ......
 
• Greater Bangladesh proposal angers AGP
• Nitin Gogoi, Rediff on Net, February 22, 2001

>>> The ruling Asom Gana Parishad has lodged a protest with the Union Home Ministry over a proposal for creation of a greater Bangladesh, comprising seven north-eastern states, West Bengal and Bangladesh, mooted by some Bangladeshi intellectuals. ......
 
• Hard Times, Soft Budget
• Dewang Mehta, The Times of India, February 23, 2001

>>> It’s time again for finance minister Yashwant Sinha to unfold the budget 2001. Last year, in fact, the minister virtually swept the IT industry off its feet with his thoughtful financial plan. It was as though the minister had been conducting an IT philharmonic, specially “tuned” to the requirements of the rapidly growing software and hardware sectors. ......
 
• Fading red
• Editorial, The Indian Express, February 23, 2001

>>> Saifuddin Chowdhury’s Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS) is unlikely to set the Hooghly on fire. But to dismiss it as the 44th political party - as a senior Marxist leader tried to do on Wednesday - is an attempt at covering up the CPM’s embarrassment. ......
 
• The pressure on Hindus for religious conversion on rise in Pakistan
• www.webduniya.com, February 25, 2001

>>> Jaisalmer. The Hindus residing in Pakistan, are being highly pressurized for conversion, after the military rule there. Due to a strong movement initiated by the conservative Pakistani organisations for last two-three years, the residing Hindus are leading a fearful life. ......
 
• Saudi says govt subsidy to Hajis is un-Islamic
• Jyoti Malhotra, The India Express, February 26, 2001

>>> India's annual subsidy incurred on the Haj pilgrimage, amounting to Rs 150 crore this year, has been criticised by none other than the government of Saudi Arabia, which believes the subsidy goes against the spirit of the Shariat. ......
 
• Spirituality, holidays, sacrifice as envisioned by a swami
• V Ramaprasad, The India Express, February 26, 2001

>>> Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathy of Trivandrum recently in Mumbai to bless devotees at the Rama Dasa Ashram at Badlapur. He had earlier visualised the construction of a magnum Hanuman prathishta at the same site. ......
 
• Renovating the idea that’s India
• Rakesh Sinha, The Pioneer, February 27, 2001

>>> Somnath temple is ready to celebrate its golden jubilee. And during the Ayodhya debate in Parliament and subsequently in his article, "Musings from Kuamarakom," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee extrapolated his argument from the speech of Dr Rajendra Prasad, then President of India, on May 11 1951 ......
 
• Indo-Russian nuclear deal
• Kamal Matinuddin, www.jang.com.pk, February 27, 2001

>>> The recent decision by Moscow to provide nuclear fuel for India's Tarapur Nuclear Reactor will further encourage the Hindu fundamentalist government in New Delhi to use its nuclear fangs to brow beat its neighbours. ......
 
• PM nails Oppn ‘lies’ on quake relief
• The Economic Times, February 28, 2001

>>> Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was in a combat mode today, demolished the Opposition’s charge of discrimination during relief operation in earthquake devastated Gujarat and accused his party’s rivals with politicising every activity of governance. ......